Techniques for reservation preamble for prioritized medium contention in a new radio shared spectrum communication system

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses for wireless communications are described. The aspects relate to a frame structure for new radio shared spectrum. For instance, the frame structure may provide shared medium access by multiple operators in a new radio shared spectrum system. Specifically, the present aspects provide for utilizing reservation preambles associated with a distinct operator for announcing to other operators a reservation of at least one transmission opportunity of a given frame in the new radio shared spectrum.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/596,692, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR RESERVATION PREAMBLE FORPRIORITIZED MEDIUM CONTENTION IN A NEW RADIO SHARED SPECTRUMCOMMUNICATION SYSTEM” and filed on May 16, 2017, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/417,844, entitled“TECHNIQUES FOR RESERVATION PREAMBLE FOR PRIORITIZED MEDIUM CONTENTIONIN A NEW RADIO SHARED SPECTRUM COMMUNICATION SYSTEM” and filed on Nov.4, 2016, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of this disclosure relate generally to wireless communicationnetworks, and more particularly to techniques for a reservation preamblefor prioritized medium contention in a new radio shared spectrumwireless communication network.

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication networks may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access technologies includecode division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multipleaccess (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA)systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems,single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. For example, fifth generation (5G) NewRadio (NR) communications technology is envisaged to expand and supportdiverse usage scenarios and applications with respect to current mobilenetwork generations. In an aspect, 5G communications technology includesenhanced mobile broadband addressing human-centric use cases for accessto multimedia content, services and data; ultra-reliable-low latencycommunications (URLLC) with strict requirements, especially in terms oflatency and reliability; and massive machine type communications for avery large number of connected devices and typically transmitting arelatively low volume of non-delay-sensitive information. As the demandfor mobile broadband access continues to increase, however, there existsa need for further improvements in 5G communications technology andbeyond. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to othermulti-access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies.

As the number of packets being transmitted increases with 5G, techniquesare needed to provide efficient and improved process when communicatingframes during wireless communications. In certain instances, as the nextgeneration of wireless communications come into existence, more flexibletransmissions may be desired in order to ensure adequate or improvedlevels of wireless communications. Thus, improvements in communicationduring wireless communication are desired.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, an apparatus,and a computer-readable medium for wireless communications. Thedescribed aspects may determine, by a network entity of a first operatorhaving a first priority level, whether to transmit on at least a portionof a transmission opportunity. The described aspects may transmit areservation preamble associated with the first network entity based on adetermination by the first network entity to transmit on at least theportion of the transmission opportunity. The described aspects may forgotransmission of the reservation preamble associated with the firstnetwork entity based on a determination by the first network entity tonot transmit on at least the portion of the transmission opportunity.The described aspects may determine, by a second network entity of asecond operator having a second priority level, whether the reservationpreamble from one or more network entities of the first operator hasbeen detected. The described aspects may transmit a reservation preambleof the second network entity based on a determination that thereservation preamble from one or more network entities of the firstoperator has not been detected by at least the second network entity.The described aspects may transmit data associated with the secondnetwork entity within the portion of the transmission opportunitysubsequent to the transmission of the reservation preamble of the secondnetwork entity.

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, an apparatus,and a computer-readable medium for wireless communications at a userequipment (UE). The UE may receive, on a preamble timeslot assigned tothe first operator from a network entity, a downlink reservationpreamble. The UE may further transmitting, within the preamble timeslotassigned to the first operator and subsequent to the reception of thedownlink reservation preamble, an uplink reservation preamble of thefirst operator to a second network entity.

In accordance with an aspect, the present methods and apparatus relateto wireless communications at a user equipment (UE). The describedaspects include receiving, on a downlink channel from a first networkentity, a first reservation preamble of a first operator. The describedaspects further include transmitting, on an uplink channel, a secondreservation preamble of the first operator to a second network entityassociated with a second operator.

The present disclosure also includes an apparatus having components orconfigured to execute or means for executing the above-describedmethods, and a computer-readable medium storing one or more codesexecutable by a processor to perform the above-described methods.

Various aspects and features of the disclosure are described in furtherdetail below with reference to various examples thereof as shown in theaccompanying drawings. While the present disclosure is described belowwith reference to various examples, it should be understood that thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. Those of ordinary skill inthe art having access to the teachings herein will recognize additionalimplementations, modifications, and examples, as well as other fields ofuse, which are within the scope of the present disclosure as describedherein, and with respect to which the present disclosure may be ofsignificant utility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify correspondingly throughout, where dashed lines mayindicate optional components or actions, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication networkincluding an aspect of a preamble relay component for wirelesscommunications in accordance with one or more example aspects.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication networkincluding an aspect of a reservation preamble transmission component forwireless communications in accordance with one or more example aspects.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an example frame structure inaccordance with one or more example aspects.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an example transmission opportunityincluding a reservation preamble structure in accordance with one ormore example aspects.

FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario for a highest priority operator in accordancewith one or more example aspects.

FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario for a highest priority operator havingmultiple network entities in accordance with one or more exampleaspects.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario for a highest priority operator in accordancewith one or more example aspects.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario for a lower priority operator in accordancewith one or more example aspects.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario for a lower priority operator in accordancewith another example aspect.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a communication system including a UEhaving preamble relay component and corresponding transmissionopportunity structure in accordance with one or more example aspects.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of a transmission opportunitycommunication structure in accordance with one or more example aspects.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a transmission opportunitycommunication structure in accordance with one or more example aspects.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are flow diagrams illustrating an example method ofcommunications in a wireless communication system in accordance with oneor more example aspects.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of wirelesscommunications at a network entity in accordance with one or moreexample aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known components are shown in blockdiagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. In an aspect,the term “component” as used herein may be one of the parts that make upa system, may be hardware or software, and may be divided into othercomponents.

The present aspects generally relate to a frame structure for new radioshared spectrum. Specifically, conventional implementations may beunsuited for facilitating communication between user equipments (UEs)and network entities supporting multiple operators. For example, anoperator may be or otherwise correspond to a provider of wirelessservice. In particular, conventional implementations may eitherinefficiently utilize available spectrum associated with a particularradio access technology (RAT) across multiple operators, or may beunable to utilize available spectrum in conjunction with anotheroperator. As such, a frame structure that allows for or otherwisefacilitates multiple operator communication may be desirable. Forinstance, the frame structure may provide shared medium access bymultiple operators in a new radio shared spectrum system.

Even more, medium access in various spectrums such as, but not limitedto, an unlicensed spectrum, may utilize a listen-before-talk (LBT)scheme to monitor an unlicensed channel so as to prevent or mitigateinterference with another RAT and/or another operator. For instance, LBTmay be performed via energy detection or preamble detection, which insome aspects, may utilize random backoff. However, performing LBT in anmulti-RAT environment including various operators may encounter a numberof drawbacks such as high overhead associated with random backoff,chances of collision if a continuous carrier aggregation (CCA) counterof at least two network entities reaches zero at the same CCA slot,issues associated with hidden network entities and spatial reuse.Accordingly, to overcome the above drawbacks, synchronization may beprovided across various network entities (e.g., eNBs). In particular, toachieve such synchronization, the present aspects provide apriority-based medium contention scheme for one or more frequency bandsthat may or may not have an LBT scheme. For example, a reservationpreamble associated with a particular operator may be transmitted by anetwork entity to notify one or more network entities (e.g., eNBs) ofother operators that the network entity will occupy the medium orchannel during a given transmission opportunity (e.g., during a timeduration of a number of symbols).

Accordingly, in some aspects, the present methods and apparatuses mayprovide an efficient solution, as compared to conventional solutions, byutilizing reservation preambles associated with a distinct operator forannouncing to other operators a reservation of at least one transmissionopportunity of a given frame in a new radio shared spectrum. In otherwords, in the present aspects, a UE may efficiently and effectivelyreceive, on a preamble timeslot assigned to the first operator from anetwork entity, a downlink reservation preamble, and transmit, withinthe preamble timeslot assigned to the first operator and subsequent tothe reception of the downlink reservation preamble, an uplinkreservation preamble of the first operator to a second network entity.

Further, the present aspects provide one or more mechanisms fordetermining, by a network entity of a first operator having a firstpriority level, whether to transmit on at least a portion of atransmission opportunity, and transmitting a reservation preambleassociated with the first network entity based on a determination by thefirst network entity to transmit on at least the portion of thetransmission opportunity. Additionally, the present aspects provide oneor more mechanisms for determining, by a second network entity of asecond operator having a second priority level, whether the reservationpreamble from one or more network entities of the first operator hasbeen detected, transmitting a reservation preamble of the second networkentity based on a determination that the reservation preamble from oneor more network entities of the first operator has not been detected byat least the second network entity, and transmitting data associatedwith the second network entity within the portion of the transmissionopportunity subsequent to the transmission of the reservation preambleof the second network entity.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, in an aspect, a wireless communicationsystem 100 includes at least one user equipment (UE) 115 incommunication coverage of at least network entities 105 and 106. The UE115 may communicate with a network 110 via the network entity 105. In anexample, the UE 115 may transmit and/or receive wireless communicationto and/or from the network entity 105 via one or more communicationchannels 125. The one or more communication channels 125 may include anuplink communication channel (or simply uplink channel bandwidth region)for transmission of data from the UE 115 to the network entity 105 and adownlink communication channel (or simply downlink channel bandwidthregion) for transmission of data from the network entity 105 to the UE115, such as but not limited to an uplink data channel and/or downlinkdata channel. Such wireless communications may include, but are notlimited to, data, audio and/or video information. Moreover, in anexample, the wireless communications between the UE 115 and the networkentity 105 may include 5G new radio (NR) communications.

Referring to FIG. 1A, in accordance with the present disclosure, the UE115 may include a memory 44, one or more processors 20 and a transceiver60. The memory 44, one or more processors 20 and the transceiver 60 maycommunicate internally via a bus 11. In some examples, the memory 44 andthe one or more processors 20 may be part of the same hardware component(e.g., may be part of a same board, module, or integrated circuit).Alternatively, the memory 44 and the one or more processors 20 may beseparate components that may act in conjunction with one another. Insome aspects, the bus 11 may be a communication system that transfersdata between multiple components and subcomponents of the UE 115. Insome examples, the one or more processors 20 may include any one orcombination of modem processor, baseband processor, digital signalprocessor and/or transmit processor, or any other processor that may,for example, receive, on a downlink channel from a first network entity(e.g., network entity 105), a first reservation preamble 132 of a firstoperator 112, and transmit, on an uplink channel, the second reservationpreamble 134 of the first operator 112 to a second network entity 106.In some aspects, the first reservation preamble 132 may also be referredto as a downlink reservation preamble.

Additionally or alternatively, the one or more processors 20 may includea preamble relay component 130 for carrying out one or more methods orprocedures described herein. In an aspect, the term “component” as usedherein may be one of the parts that make up a system, may be hardware,firmware, and/or software, and may be divided into other components. Thepreamble relay component 130, and each of its subcomponents, maycomprise hardware, firmware, and/or software and may be configured toexecute code or perform instructions stored in a memory (e.g., acomputer-readable storage medium).

In some examples, the UE 115 may include the memory 44, such as forstoring data used herein and/or local versions of applications orcommunication with transmission component 130 and/or one or more of itssubcomponents being executed by the one or more processors 20. Thememory 44 can include any type of computer-readable medium usable by acomputer or processor 20, such as random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile memory,non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In an aspect, forexample, the memory 44 may be a computer-readable storage medium (e.g.,a non-transitory medium) that stores one or more computer-executablecodes defining transmission component 130 and/or one or more of itssubcomponents, and/or data associated therewith, when the UE 115 isoperating one or more processors 20 to execute the transmissioncomponent 130 and/or one or more of its subcomponents. In some examples,the UE 115 may further include a transceiver 60 for transmitting and/orreceiving one or more data and control signals to/from the network viathe network entity 105. The transceiver 60 may comprise hardware,firmware, and/or software and may be configured to execute code orperform instructions stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readablestorage medium). The transceiver 60 may include a first radio accesstechnology (RAT) radio 160 (e.g. UMTS/WCDMA, LTE-A, WLAN, Bluetooth,WSAN-FA) comprising a modem 165 (e.g., a first modem). The first RATradio 160 may utilize one or more antennas 64 for transmitting signalsto and receiving signals from the network entity 105.

For example, the UE 115 may include a preamble relay component 130,which may be configured to facilitate transmission or relaying of areservation preamble according to a new radio shared spectrum framestructure on one or more uplink communication channels to a networkentity such as network entity 106. For example, with reference to FIG.8, a reservation preamble associated with a particular operator (e.g.,first operator 112) may inform or otherwise indicate to one or morenetwork entities (e.g., network entity 106) associated with differentoperators that the network entity 105 will transmit data on atransmission opportunity (e.g., formed of a number of subframes of aconsistent time duration). However, in some cases, network entities maybe hidden from or remain undetected by the transmitting network entity,e.g., network entity 105, and as such, the reservation preamble may notbe received by the potentially interfering network entity (e.g., networkentity 106). As such, the UE 115 may transmit the reservation preambleto the one or more network entities that may potentially interfere withthe transmission of the transmission opportunity associated with thereservation preamble by the network entity. In some aspects, the UE 115may transmit one or more transmission opportunities within a frame 132in accordance with a frame structure that facilities transmission onsubframes or symbols associated with multiple or different operators, asillustrated in FIG. 2.

Specifically, to address hidden node problems, the preamble relaycomponent 130 may be configured to receive a first reservation preamble132 of a first operator 112 on a downlink channel from the networkentity 105 (e.g., which may be a serving eNB). Based on the UE-specificrelay scheme, the UE 115 may then transmit a second reservation preamble134 of the first operator 112 to at least one other network entity(e.g., network entity 106) associated with at least one differentoperator (e.g., second operator 114) on an uplink channel according to aframe structure 802 as illustrated in FIG. 8 and/or frame structure 900as illustrated in FIG. 9. In some aspects, the second reservationpreamble 134 may also be referred to as an uplink reservation preamble.In some aspects, the second reservation preamble 134 may include asubset of information of the first reservation preamble 132. In someaspects, the first reservation preamble 132 may also be transmitted tonetwork entity 106 associated with a second operator 114. Specifically,the network entity 106 may be able to receive the first preambledirectly. The second reservation preamble 134 may be transmitted fromthe UE 115 to address the potential scenario where the network entity106 may not be able to hear the first reservation preamble 132 directly.

In one UE-specific relay scheme, for example, all UEs including UE 115may transmit an uplink reservation preamble (e.g., second reservationpreamble 134) upon detection of a downlink reservation preamble (e.g.,first reservation preamble 132) from the same operator/cell. Forexample, the preamble relay component 130 may include a determinationcomponent 136, which may be configured to detect the first reservationpreamble 132 (e.g., downlink reservation preamble from an associatedoperator). As such, the UE 115 may transmit the second reservationpreamble 134 (e.g., uplink reservation preamble) based on adetermination that the downlink preamble from an associated operator hasbeen detected.

In another UE-specific relay scheme, for instance, the downlinkreservation preamble (e.g., first reservation preamble 132) may includea payload indicating UE identifiers permitted or configured to transmitthe uplink reservation preamble (e.g., second reservation preamble). Insuch aspect, the first reservation preamble 132 may include at least oneUE identifier. Accordingly, the determination component 136 may beconfigured to determine whether the first reservation preamble 132(e.g., downlink preamble from an associated operator) is detected, andif so, if the at least one UE identifier contained in the firstreservation preamble 132 corresponds to an identifier of the UE 115. Assuch, the UE 115 may transmit the second reservation preamble 134 basedon a determination that the at least one UE identifier corresponds tothe identifier of the UE 115.

In yet another UE-specific relay scheme, for example, certain UEs may besemi-statically configured to transmit uplink reservation preambles(e.g., second reservation preamble 134). The UEs may transmit uplinkreservation preamble upon detecting a downlink reservation preamble(e.g., first reservation preamble 132) from the operator/cell.

Further, the UE 115, and in particular transmission component 130 mayconfigure the frame structure of frame 132 based on frame configurationinformation received from the network entity 105. For example, thepreamble relay component 130 may be configured to receive an indicationincluding a number of operators from the network entity 105, anddetermine a transmission opportunity structure including at least oneuplink LBT timeslot based on the number of operators from the networkentity 105. Accordingly, the preamble relay component 130 may beconfigured to transmit the second reservation preamble 134 of the firstoperator 112 to the second network entity during the at least one uplinklisten-before-talk timeslot. Further, the UE 115, and in particular thepreamble relay component 130 may be configured to receive at least oneof a duration or a priority of one or more transmission opportunities,and forgo monitoring of one or more LBT timeslots.

Further, for example, the preamble relay component 130 may be configuredto receive, from the network entity 105, an indication including one orboth of a duration of at least one of the one or more first transmissionopportunities or the one or more second transmission opportunitieswithin the at least one frame 132, or a priority for each of the firstoperator 112 and the second operator 114. Accordingly, the at least oneframe 132 may be transmitted according to one or both of the duration ofat least one of the one or more first transmission opportunities or theone or more second transmission opportunities or the priority for eachof the first operator 112 and the second operator 114. In some aspects,the multiple operators (e.g., first operator 112, second operator 114,etc.) may be synchronous or synchronized based on, for example, globalpositioning system (GPS) signaling, network listening, and/orUE-assisted discovery.

The UE 115 may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as amobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit,a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, aremote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, orsome other suitable terminology. The UE 115 may be a cellular phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wirelesscommunication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a cordless phone, a wearable item such as a watch or glasses,a wireless local loop (WLL) station, or the like. The UE 115 may be ableto communicate with macro eNodeBs, small cell eNodeBs, relays, and thelike. The UE 115 may also be able to communicate over different accessnetworks, such as cellular or other WWAN access networks, or WLAN accessnetworks.

Additionally, as used herein, the one or more wireless nodes or wirelessserving nodes, including, but not limited to, network entity 105 ofwireless communication system 100, may include one or more of any typeof network component, such as an access point, including a base stationor node B, an eNodeB a relay, a peer-to-peer device, an authentication,authorization and accounting (AAA) server, a mobile switching center(MSC), a radio network controller (RNC), etc. In a further aspect, theone or more wireless serving nodes of wireless communication system 100may include one or more macro and/or small cell base stations, such as,but not limited to a femtocell, picocell, microcell, or any other basestation having a relatively small transmit power or relatively smallcoverage area as compared to a macro base station.

Referring to FIG. 1B, in accordance with the present disclosure, thenetwork entity 105 may include a memory 45, one or more processors 21and a transceiver 61. The memory 45, one or more processors 21 and thetransceiver 61 may communicate internally via a bus 12. In someexamples, the memory 45 and the one or more processors 21 may be part ofthe same hardware component (e.g., may be part of a same board, module,or integrated circuit). Alternatively, the memory 45 and the one or moreprocessors 21 may be separate components that may act in conjunctionwith one another. In some aspects, the bus 12 may be a communicationsystem that transfers data between multiple components and subcomponentsof the network entity 105. In some examples, the one or more processors21 may include any one or a combination of modem processor, basebandprocessor, digital signal processor and/or transmit processor, or anyother processor that may, for example, detect at least one reservationpreamble from network entities of higher priority operators, and/ortransmit a reservation preamble associated with the network entity 105.

Additionally or alternatively, the one or more processors 21 may includea reservation preamble transmission component 131 for carrying out oneor more methods or procedures described herein. In an aspect, the term“component” as used herein may be one of the parts that make up asystem, may be hardware, firmware, and/or software, and may be dividedinto other components. The reservation preamble transmission component131, and each of its subcomponents, may comprise hardware, firmware,and/or software and may be configured to execute code or performinstructions stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable storagemedium).

In some examples, the network entity 105 may include the memory 45, suchas for storing data used herein and/or local versions of applications orcommunication with the frame determination component 131 and/or one ormore of its subcomponents being executed by the one or more processors21. The memory 45 can include any type of computer-readable mediumusable by a computer or processor 21, such as random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs,volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In anaspect, for example, the memory 45 may be a computer-readable storagemedium (e.g., a non-transitory medium) that stores one or morecomputer-executable codes defining the frame determination component 131and/or one or more of its subcomponents, and/or data associatedtherewith, when the network entity 105 is operating one or moreprocessors 21 to execute the reservation preamble transmission component131 and/or one or more of its subcomponents. In some examples, thenetwork entity 105 may further include a transceiver 61 for transmittingand/or receiving one or more data and control signals to/from the UE115. The transceiver 61 may comprise hardware, firmware, and/or softwareand may be configured to execute code or perform instructions stored ina memory (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium). The transceiver 61may include a first radio access technology (RAT) radio 161 (e.g.UMTS/WCDMA, LTE-A, WLAN, Bluetooth, WSAN-FA) comprising a modem 166(e.g., a first modem), and a second RAT radio 171 (e.g., 5G) comprisinga modem 176 (e.g., a second modem). The first RAT radio 161 and secondRAT radio 171 may utilize one or more antennas 65 for transmittingsignals to and receiving signals from the UE 115. In some examples, thetransceiver 61 may include one of the first RAT radio 161 or the secondRAT radio 171.

For example, the network entity 105 may include the reservation preambletransmission component 131, which may be configured to transmit areservation preamble in a time slot dedicated to the operator thenetwork entity 105 belongs to, based on an indication that the networkentity 105 will transmit data on at least one transmission opportunityof a frame 132. That is, the reservation preamble transmission component131 may notify or inform other network entities (e.g., second networkentity 106) supporting various operators that may potentially interferewith transmission of transmission opportunities by the first networkentity 105. In some aspects, the first operator reservation preamble 133and the second operator reservation preamble 140 may notify one or morenetwork entities including the network entity 106 (e.g., non-servingeNB) that the network entity 105 will transmit data on a channel duringthe portion of the transmission opportunity for a given operator.

Specifically, the reservation preamble transmission component 131 may beconfigured to control operator access to one or more transmissionopportunities by determining whether higher priority operators haveelected not to transmit corresponding reservation preambles. Forexample, in some aspects, the first operator 112 may have a highestpriority level such that access to at least one transmission opportunitymay be made without contention with other operators. If a network entityof the first operator 112 elects to transmit data on the at least onetransmission opportunity, reservation preamble transmission component131 may be configured to notify or inform other network entities (e.g.,network entity 106) supporting different operators that the networkentity 105 of the first operator plans on or will transmit data at theat least one transmission opportunity (e.g., so as to avoid or mitigateinterference with the other network entities transmitting on the samefrequencies).

In the event the network entity 105 of the first operator 112 foregoesthe opportunity to transmit on the at least one transmission opportunityof the frame 132, the reservation preamble transmission component 131 ofthe second network entity 106 of the second operator 106, and if thesecond network entity wants to transmit, the reservation preambletransmission component 131 may be configured to transmit a secondoperator reservation preamble 140 to a distinct network entity of atleast the first operator 112, for example, based on a determination thatthe reservation preamble of the first operator 112 has not beentransmitted to at least the second network entity 106.

Further, for a third network entity of a third operator having lowerpriority than the first and second operators, reservation preambletransmission component 131 of the third network entity may make asimilar determination to determine whether the third network entity maytransmit an associated reservation preamble for access to thetransmission opportunity. That is, when both the first operator 112 andthe second operator 114 have determined or elected not to utilize thetransmission opportunity, and correspondingly where the third networkentity does not detect transmission of neither first operatorreservation preamble 133 nor second operator reservation preamble 140,the third network entity may or may not transmit an associatedreservation preamble via the reservation preamble transmission component131.

In some aspects, a number of operators may be transmitted/signaled tothe UE 115. The UE 115 may determine the transmission opportunitystructure based on the number of operators. For example, the firstsubframe of a transmission opportunity may be shortened to allow for theLBT slots.

In some aspects, to reduce the LBT overhead, a duration and/or priorityof the transmission opportunities may be transmitted/signaled to the UE115. The UE 115 may utilize such information to reduce power consumptionby not monitoring transmission opportunities prohibited to the operatorand/or by not monitoring LBT slots not belonging to the servingoperator. In some aspects, the UE 115 may be configured using adiscontinuous reception (DRX) mask corresponding to a subset of thetransmission opportunities.

In some aspects, soft sharing with power control may enable lowerpriority operators/network entities to transmit at a lower transmitpower on transmission opportunities used by a higher priorityoperator/network entity. For example, the reservation preamble may bedetected if a received reservation preamble energy associated with aparticular network entity of an operator satisfies (e.g., is above) acertain threshold level (e.g., reception threshold value). As such, if anetwork entity of a lower priority operator detects a reservationpreamble from a higher priority operator, the network entity may beprohibited from using the transmission opportunity. However, suchtransmission scheme may be loosened for soft sharing. Specifically,instead of prohibiting the transmission by the lower priority networkentity, the network entity of the lower priority operator may be allowedto transmit with lower transmit power. Further, the maximum allowedtransmit power by the network entity of the lower priority operator maybe given as a function of the received reservation preamble power (e.g.,may be inversely proportional).

In some aspects, in instances where intra/inter operator backhaulcommunication is available, backhaul message exchange may be usedtogether with the over-the-air reservation preamble signaling. Forexample, a network entity of a higher priority operator may send viabackhaul to one or more network entities of a lower priority operator anintention to occupy one or more upcoming transmission opportunities. Thehigher priority operator may still transmit the over-the-air preamblefor robustness so that the priority-based sharing can be reliablyachieved even when the backhaul signaling is not delivered at all or notdelivered on time.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an example frame structure 200 inaccordance with one or more example aspects. In some aspects, a frame202 (e.g., having a number of subframes 204) may include a firstacquisition interval 210 associated with a first operator 112 and firstand second transmission opportunities 212 and 214 having or associatedwith a guarantee interval for the first operator 112. The frame 202 mayfurther include a second acquisition interval 216 associated with asecond operator 114 different from the first operator 112 and third andfourth transmission opportunities 218 and 220 having or associated witha guarantee interval for the second operator 114. In some aspects, thefirst acquisition interval and the one or more first transmissionopportunities may be nonoverlapping with the second acquisition intervaland the one or more second transmission opportunities.

In some aspects, the first acquisition interval 210 and the secondacquisition interval 216 may allow each operator (e.g., first operator112 and/or second operator 114, respectively) to send at least one of adownlink discovery reference signal (DRS) or an uplink random accesschannel (RACH), or in some cases, system critical information ordiscovery signal. As such, the first acquisition interval 210 and thesecond acquisition interval 216 may be utilized solely by the associatedoperator, e.g., the first operator 112 in the case of the firstacquisition interval and the second operator 114 in the case of thesecond acquisition interval. In some aspects, the first acquisitioninterval and/or the second acquisition interval 136 may include at leastone of a downlink clear channel assessment (CCA) exempt transmission(DL-CET) or an uplink CET (UL-CET).

Further, in some aspects, an assignment or allocation of the first andsecond transmission opportunities 212 and 214 as a guarantee intervalensures the first operator 112 a prioritized transmitting opportunity,while the second operator 114 may have a transmitting opportunity as anopportunistic interval if the first operator 206 elects not to transmiton the resources. That is, the guarantee interval of the first andsecond transmission opportunities 212 and 214 and/or the third andfourth transmission opportunities 218 and 220 may respectivelyprioritize medium access without contention to the first operator 112and the second operator 114, respectively. In other words, an indicationthat or an assignment of a given transmission opportunity to aparticular operator as a guarantee interval guarantees or ensures thatthe particular operator has prioritized access to the given transmissionopportunity prior to or before other operators.

For example, in some aspects, to provide such prioritized access oftransmission opportunities, the first operator 112 may be associatedwith a first priority and the second operator 114 may be associated witha second priority. The relative ordering or comparative values of thepriorities may be indicative of an access level of the transmissionopportunities. For instance, in some aspects, the first priority may begreater than the second priority within the one or more firsttransmission opportunities having the guarantee interval for the firstoperator 112. Further, in some aspects, the second priority may begreater than the first priority within the one or more secondtransmission opportunities having the guarantee interval for the secondoperator 114. Although two operators are illustrated and describedherein, frame 202 may accommodate two or more operators according to asimilar frame structure as described herein with respect to twooperators.

Additionally, the transmission opportunities may include opportunisticintervals permitting or otherwise providing medium access to an operatorhaving a priority level lower than the first priority of the firstoperator 112 or the second priority of the second operator 114 if thehighest priority operator does not act on the guarantee interval. Forexample, the one or more first transmission opportunities furtherinclude an opportunistic interval for at least the second operator 114and the one or more second transmission opportunities further include anopportunistic interval for at least the first operator 112.

Further, in some aspects, the location of the first acquisition interval134 and the second acquisition interval 138 may be dynamic based on thetransmission scheme. For example, in a staggered approach, the firstacquisition interval may be adjacent to and followed by the first andsecond transmission opportunities 212 and 214 and the second acquisitioninterval 136 may be adjacent to and followed by the third and fourthtransmission opportunities 218 and 220. Further, in an aligned approach,the first acquisition interval may be adjacent to the second acquisitioninterval and followed by the first, second, third, and fourthtransmission opportunities 212, 214, 218, and 220.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram 300 of a transmission opportunity 302including a reservation preamble structure in accordance with one ormore example aspects. For example, the transmission opportunity 302including a reservation preamble structure may be part of frame 132 in acommunication system supporting two or more operators. In some aspects,the transmission opportunity 302 may include one or more LBT slots 304and 306 allowing for or facilitating transmission of a reservationpreamble of a particular operator assigned to an LBT slot based on apriority level. The transmission opportunity 302 may also include aduration for control/data transmission by at least one network entity ofthe prevailing operator. As such, each transmission opportunity 302 maybe used for or by the first operator 112 and the second operator 114.The network entities (e.g., eNBs) of the highest priority operator donot perform LBT while the network entities of the lower priorityoperators may perform LBT. Further, when occupying the medium, networkentities of an operator may send a downlink reservation preamble in theLBT slot to allow network entities of other operators to detect themedium occupancy.

For example, the first operator 112 may have the highest priority and assuch, a network entity of the first operator may determine or elect totransmit data on the first operator preamble 308 of the transmissionopportunity 302 without contention from network entities of otheroperators. A network entity of the second operator 114 may transmit data312 on the downlink/uplink 310 portion of the transmission opportunity302 if network entities of the first operator 112 elects not to transmitthe assigned or allocated first operator reservation preamble 308.Specifically, a network entity of the second operator 114 may detectthat any network entities of the first operator 112 did not transmit thefirst operator reservation preamble 308, and in turn, may transmit thesecond operator preservation preamble 314. The network entity of thesecond operator 114 may then access the downlink/uplink 310 medium fortransmission of data 312. Likewise, a network entity of a third operatormay transmit utilize the transmission opportunity 300 and transmit theassigned or allocated reservation preamble when all of network entitiesof the first operator 112 and second operator 114 forego transmission oftheir respective reservation preambles.

In some aspects, when an operator transmits a reservation preamble, anetwork entity of that operator may transmit the reservation preamble.Likewise, when an operator detects a preamble of another operator, anetwork entity of an operator may detect a reservation preamble of thenetwork entities of another operator.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario 400 for a highest priority operator inaccordance with one or more example aspects. For instance, thereservation preamble transmission of the first operator 406 may be partof or within slot 402 (e.g., frame 132) in an communication systemsupporting at least three operators 406, 408, and 410. The firstoperator 406 may have the highest priority and as such, may determine orelect to transmit on a data portion 416 of the transmission opportunity412 without contention from the second or third operators 408 and 410,respectively. The second and third operators 408 and 410 may each have asecond and third highest priority, respectively. In the example of FIG.4, as the first operator 406 has elected to transmit on the transmissionopportunity and notify nearby network entities by transmitting anallocated reservation preamble 414, the network entities of the secondand third operators 408 and 410, which may be in the hearing range ofthe network entity of the first operator, are precluded fromtransmitting on the same transmission opportunity. For example, thesecond operator 408 may detect that the first operator 406 transmittedthe first operator reservation preamble 414 and as such, may nottransmit the second operator reservation preamble 418 to access theavailable transmission resources of the transmission opportunity 412. Insome aspects, each operator including the first operator 406, secondoperator 408, and/or third operator 410 may include one or more networkentities.

FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario 440 for two network entities 406 a and 406 bbelonging to a highest priority operator 406 in accordance with one ormore example aspects. Both network entities of the operator 406 may havethe highest priority and as such, may determine or elect to transmit ona data portion 416 of the transmission opportunity 412 withoutcontention from each other. Each of the two network entities 406 a and406 b notifies nearby network entities (including to each other) bytransmitting an allocated reservation preamble 414 a and 414 b. However,as the reservation preambles 414 a and 414 b are transmitted within thesame LBT slot, they do not block each other from occupying thetransmission opportunity. As a result, both network entities can occupythe transmission opportunity. Thus, some or all base stations or networkentities of an operator may access the medium at the same time (e.g., donot block each other) so as to provide synchronized medium sharing.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario 500 in accordance with one or more exampleaspects. For example, the reservation preamble transmission of the firstoperator 406 may be part of or within slot 502 (e.g., frame 132) in ancommunication system supporting at least three operators 506, 508, and510. The first operator 506 may have the highest priority and as such,may determine or elect to transmit on a data portion 516 of thetransmission opportunity 512 without contention from the second or thirdoperators 508 and 510, respectively. The second and third operators 508and 510 may each have a second and third highest priority, respectively.In the example of FIG. 5, as the first operator 506 has elected totransmit on the transmission opportunity and notify one or more networkentities by transmitting an allocated reservation preamble 514, thesecond and third operators 508 and 510 are precluded from transmittingon the same transmission opportunity. In some aspects, the firstoperator 506 may also utilize a time duration assigned or allocated tosecond operator reservation preamble 518 as part of the datatransmission.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario 600 for a lower priority operator (e.g.,second operator 608) in accordance with one or more example aspects. Forinstance, the reservation preamble transmission of the second operator608 may be part of or within slot 602 (e.g., frame 132) in ancommunication system supporting at least three operators 606, 608, and610. In some aspects, the second operator 608 may determine that thefirst operator 606 elected not to transmit on the data portion 616 ofthe transmission opportunity 6012 as it did not transmit the firstoperator reservation preamble 614. As such, the second operator 608 mayutilize the data portion 616 transmission opportunity 612 by initiallytransmitting an allocated or assigned second operator reservationpreamble 608 notifying the other network entities of an upcomingtransmission by the second operator 608.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of an example reservation preamble anddata transmission scenario 700 for a lower priority operator (e.g.,third operator 710) in accordance with one or more example aspects. Forexample, the reservation preamble transmission of the third operator 710may be part of or within slot 702 (e.g., frame 132) in an communicationsystem supporting at least three operators 706, 708, and 710. Similar toFIG. 5, the third operator 710 may determine that the first operator 706and the second operator 716 did not transmit their respectivereservation preambles 714 and 716, respectively, and as such, the dataportion 718 of the transmission opportunity 712 is available forutilization. That is, the first operator 706 and the second operator 708have determined not to take or occupy the transmission opportunity 712.Specifically, the third operator 710 detects that neither the firstoperator reservation preamble 706 nor the second operator reservationpreamble 708 has been transmitted. As such, the third operator 710 mayoccupy or transmit on the available resources of the transmissionopportunity 712 without transmitting a reservation preamble.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of an example communication system 800including a UE (e.g., UE 115, FIG. 1A) having preamble relay component130 (FIG. 1A) and corresponding transmission opportunity structure 820in accordance with one or more example aspects. The communication system800 illustrates a hidden network entity scenario which may result in aneNB 808 (e.g., belonging to operator B) that potentially interferes withthe coverage area of another eNB 804 (e.g., belonging to operator A).For example, the eNB 804 may be a serving eNB of UE 115, and may have acoverage area 806. However, the preamble coverage penetration area 802may not extend far enough to reach a potential interfere such as eNB 808belonging to a different operator. Therefore, eNB 808 is a hidden nodefrom eNB 804 for the downlink transmission from 804 to UE 115.

Further, transmission opportunity structure 802 illustrates the downlinkand uplink relay structure that permits the UE to receive a reservationpreamble from a network entity and transmit the reservation preamble toat least one other network entity for interference mitigation. Forexample, in a two operator example, a transmission opportunity 822 mayinclude two LBT slots 824 and 826, where LBT slot 824 is associated witha first operator and the LBT slot 826 is associated with the secondoperator. The LBT slot 824 may include a first operator downlinkpreamble 830 and a first operator uplink preamble 832. Similarly, LBTslot 826 may include a second operator uplink preamble 834 and a secondoperator downlink preamble 836. Further, the transmission opportunity822 may include a data burst portion 828 for downlink/uplink 838transmission.

To overcome the hidden node or network entity scenario, the UE may alsotransmit a reservation preamble. In the illustration, if the reservationpreamble from the UE 115 reaches the eNB 808, then eNB 808 will detectthe preamble and refrain from transmission. Therefore, this addressesthe hidden node problem. In some aspects, all UEs may transmit an uplinkpreamble upon detection of a downlink preamble from the sameoperator/cell. In some aspects, a downlink reservation preamble may havea payload indicating UE identifier(s). Only those UEs indicated by theUE identifier(s) may transmit an uplink preamble. Further, in someaspects, certain UEs may be semi-statically configured to transmituplink preambles. Only the indicated UEs transmit uplink preambles upondetecting a downlink preamble from the operator/cell.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of an example transmission opportunitycommunication structure 900 in accordance with one or more exampleaspects. For example, the transmission opportunity communicationstructure 900 includes transmission opportunity 902 and may be utilizedin accordance with FIG. 1A. Transmission opportunity 902 permits thedownlink 922 and uplink 924 reservation preamble relaying schemeaccording to frequency division duplexing (FDD). Specifically, in a twooperator example, the transmission opportunity 902 may include two LBTslots 904 and 906, where LBT slot 904 is associated with a firstoperator and the LBT slot 906 is associated with a second operator. TheLBT slot 904 may include a first operator downlink preamble 910 and afirst operator uplink preamble 912. Similarly, the LBT slot 906 mayinclude a second operator uplink preamble 916 and a second operatordownlink preamble 914. Further, the transmission opportunity 902 mayinclude a data transmission portion 908 for downlink and/or uplinktransmission.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of an example transmission opportunitycommunication structure 1000 in accordance with one or more exampleaspects. In some aspects, the priority-based medium sharing may becombined with a contention based LBT. For example, certain operators maybe assigned priorities and those with the highest relative prioritiesmay transmit their respective reservation preamble and utilize thetransmission opportunity. Specifically, in the example shown withrespect to transmission opportunity 1002, the first operator may havethe highest priority but elected not to transmit. Similarly, the secondoperator has the second highest priority and also elected not totransmit following the first operator. The remaining operator maycontend for the data transmission during the contention period 1008 onthe transmission opportunity 1002. For example, a third operator and afourth operator may contend for the transmission opportunity 1002 withthe third operator prevailing over the fourth operator. The additionaloperators may contend for the medium with equal priority based on randombackoff. In some aspects, the additional operators may only have theopportunity to contend for transmission on the transmission opportunityif the first and second operators do not elect to transmit on thetransmission opportunity 1002.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are flow diagrams illustrating examples of a method1100 related to transmission of at least one reservation preamble inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Although theoperations described below are presented in a particular order and/or asbeing performed by an example component, the ordering of the actions andthe components performing the actions may be varied, depending on theimplementation. Also, although the reservation preamble transmissioncomponent 131 (FIG. 1B) is illustrated as having a number ofsubcomponents, it should be understood that one or more of theillustrated subcomponents may be separate from, but in communicationwith, the reservation preamble transmission component 131 (FIG. 1B),and/or each other. Moreover, any of actions or components describedbelow with respect to the reservation preamble transmission component131 (FIG. 1B) and/or its subcomponents may be performed by aspecially-programmed processor, a processor executingspecially-programmed software or computer-readable media, or by anyother combination of a hardware component and/or a software componentspecially configured for performing the described actions or components.The dashed lines surrounding one or more blocks may represent optionalsteps.

In an aspect, at block 1102, the method 1100 may determine, by a networkentity of a first operator having a first priority level, whether totransmit on at least a portion of a transmission opportunity. In anaspect, for example, the network entity 105 (FIG. 1B) and/or reservationpreamble transmission component 131 (FIG. 1B) may execute thedetermination component 141 (FIG. 1B) to determine whether to transmiton at least a portion of a transmission opportunity, the first operator112 having a first priority level.

At block 1104, the method 110 may transmit a reservation preambleassociated with the first network entity. In an aspect, for example, thenetwork entity 105 and/or reservation preamble transmission component131 may execute transceiver 61 (FIG. 1B) to transmit a reservationpreamble (e.g., first operator reservation preamble 133, FIG. 1B)associated with the first network entity 105 based on a determination bythe first network entity 105 to transmit on at least the portion of thetransmission opportunity.

At block 1106, the method 1100 may forgo transmission of the reservationpreamble associated with the first network entity. In an aspect, forexample, the network entity 105 and/or reservation preamble transmissioncomponent 131 may not execute transceiver 61 (FIG. 1B) to forgotransmission of the reservation preamble associated with the firstnetwork entity 105 based on a determination by the first network entityto not transmit on at least the portion of the transmission opportunity.

At block 1108, the method 110 may determine, by a second network entityof a second operator having a second priority level, whether thereservation preamble from one or more network entities of the firstoperator has been detected. In an aspect, for example, the networkentity 106 (FIG. 1B) and/or reservation preamble transmission component131 (FIG. 1B) may execute the determination component 141 (FIG. 1B) todetermine whether the reservation preamble (e.g., first operatorreservation preamble 133, FIG. 1B) from one or more network entities ofthe first operator 112 has been detected, the second operator 114 havinga second priority level.

At block 1110, the method 1110 may forgo transmission of the reservationpreamble of the second network entity. In an aspect, for example, thenetwork entity 105 and/or reservation preamble transmission component131 may not execute transceiver 61 (FIG. 1B) to forgo transmission ofthe reservation preamble of the second network entity 106 (e.g., secondoperator reservation preamble 140, FIG. 1B) based on a determination bya second network entity 106 of a second operator 114 having a secondpriority level that the reservation preamble from one or more networkentities of the first operator 112 has been detected.

At block 1112, the method 1110 may transmit a reservation preamble ofthe second network entity. In an aspect, for example, the network entity105 and/or reservation preamble transmission component 131 may executetransceiver 61 (FIG. 1B) to transmit a reservation preamble (e.g.,second operator reservation preamble 140, FIG. 1B) of the second networkentity 106 based on a determination that the reservation preamble fromone or more network entities of the first operator 105 has not beendetected by at least the second network entity 106.

At block 1114, the method 1110 may transmit data associated with thesecond network entity within the portion of the transmission opportunitysubsequent to the transmission of the reservation preamble of the secondnetwork entity. In an aspect, for example, the network entity 105 and/orreservation preamble transmission component 131 may execute transceiver61 (FIG. 1B) to transmit data associated with the second network entity106 within the portion of the transmission opportunity subsequent to thetransmission of the reservation preamble (e.g., second operatorreservation preamble 140, FIG. 1B) of the second network entity 106.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble transmission 1104 may notifyone or more other network entities belonging to lower priority operatorsthat the network entity will transmit data on and/or access a channelduring the portion of the transmission opportunity for a given operator.That is, the reservation preamble (e.g., second operator reservationpreamble 133, FIG. 1B) of the first network entity 105 may notify one ormore network entities including at least one of the second operator 114network entity 106 that a network entities belonging to the firstoperator 112 may access a channel during the portion of the transmissionopportunity.

The reservation preamble transmission 1104 may restrict access to theportion of the transmission opportunity for the one or more othernetwork entities belonging to lower priority operators based on adetermination at the one or more other network entities that thereservation preamble of the network entity has been transmitted. In someaspects, the method 1100 may, by a second network entity 106, restrictaccess to the portion of the transmission opportunity based on adetermination that the reservation preamble from one or more networkentities of the first operator 112 has been detected.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble of the first network entity105 may be assigned a first listen-before-talk timeslot associated withthe transmission opportunity and the reservation preamble of the secondnetwork entity 106 may be assigned a second listen-before-talk timeslot(e.g., after the first listen-before talk timeslot) associated with thetransmission opportunity.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble 1104 may be transmitted withina portion corresponding to a listen-before-talk timeslot of thetransmission opportunity for the operator that the network entitybelongs to.

In some aspects, the first priority level of the first operator 112 maybe greater than the second priority level of the second operator 114. Insome aspects, the first priority level of the first operator 112 and thesecond priority level of the second operator 114 may indicate an orderof access rights for transmission of data within the portion of thetransmission opportunity.

In some aspects, transmitting the reservation preamble of the secondnetwork entity 106 may be transmitted during a second timeslot followinga first timeslot assigned to the first operator 112. In some aspects,the first network entity 105 and second network entities 106 aresynchronized.

The method 1100 may restrict, by a network entity 106 of the secondoperator 114, access to the portion of the transmission opportunitybased on a determination that a downlink or an uplink reservationpreamble of one or more network entities belonging to the first operator112 has been detected.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble of the first network entity105 (e.g., first operator reservation preamble 133) and the reservationpreamble of the second network entity 106 (e.g., second operatorreservation preamble 140) may include a unique sequence common to thefirst operator 112 and the second operator 114.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble of the first network entity105 (e.g., first operator reservation preamble 133) may include a firstoperator-specific sequence and the reservation preamble of the secondnetwork entity 106 may include a second operator-specific sequencedifferent from the first operator-specific sequence.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble of the first network entity105 (e.g., first operator reservation preamble 133) include acell-specific sequence and the reservation preamble of the secondnetwork entity 106 (e.g., second operator reservation preamble 140) mayinclude a second cell-specific sequence different from the firstcell-specific sequence.

In some aspects, the reservation preamble associated with the firstnetwork entity 105 may be detected at the second network entity 106based on a determination that the reservation preamble is received atthe second network entity 106 having a signal level above a receptionthreshold value. In some aspects, the reception threshold value may beconfigured by a network

In some aspects, transmitting data by the second network entity 106 mayinclude transmitting according to a maximum transmit power determined asa function of the received signal level of the reservation preambleassociated with the first network entity 105.

In some aspects, transmitting the reservation preamble associated withthe first network entity 105 or the reservation preamble associated withthe second network entity 106 may include transmitting via a backhaulcommunication channel.

In some aspects, each of the first network entity 105 and the secondnetwork entity 106 may be part of a group of network entities associatedwith distinct operators. In some aspects, the first operator 112associated with the first network entity 105 within the group of networkentities may be assigned a highest priority level, the second operator114 associated with the second network entity 106 within the group ofnetwork entities may be assigned a second highest priority level. Insome aspects, a remaining number of operators are assigned the lowestpriority level, where the network entities with the lowest prioritylevel, upon determining that no reservation preamble from higherpriority entities were detected, contend for the medium access withouthaving ordered priorities within them.

In some aspects, given ‘N’ operators, each of the ‘M′<′N’ operators maybe given one of the highest ‘M’ priorities, and the rest ‘N-M’ operatorsmay be given equal and lowest priority, and the ‘N-M’ operators maycontend for the access of the transmission opportunity if the ‘M’operators did not transmit preamble

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating examples of a method 1200 relatedto wireless communication at a user equipment in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure. Although the operations described below arepresented in a particular order and/or as being performed by an examplecomponent, the ordering of the actions and the components performing theactions may be varied, depending on the implementation. Also, althoughthe preamble relay component 130 (FIG. 1A) is illustrated as having anumber of subcomponents, one or more of the illustrated subcomponentsmay be separate from, but in communication with, the preamble relaycomponent 130, and/or each other. Moreover, it should be understood thatany of actions or components described below with respect to thepreamble relay component 130 and/or its subcomponents may be performedby a specially-programmed processor, a processor executingspecially-programmed software or computer-readable media, or by anyother combination of a hardware component and/or a software componentspecially configured for performing the described actions or components.The dashed lines surrounding one or more blocks may represent optionalsteps.

At block 1202, the method 1200 may receive, on a preamble timeslotassigned to the first operator from a network entity, a downlinkreservation preamble. In an aspect, for example, the UE 115 (FIG. 1A)and/or preamble relay component 130 (FIG. 1A) may receive, on a preambletimeslot assigned to the first operator 112 (FIG. 1A) from a networkentity 105 (FIG. 1A), a downlink reservation preamble (e.g., firstreservation preamble 132, FIG. 1A).

Further, at block 1204, the method 1200 may transmit, within thepreamble timeslot assigned to the first operator and subsequent to thereception of the downlink reservation preamble, an uplink reservationpreamble of the first operator to a second network entity. In an aspect,for example, the UE 115 (FIG. 1A) and/or preamble relay component 130(FIG. 1A) may, within the preamble timeslot assigned to the firstoperator 112 (FIG. 1A) and subsequent to the reception of the downlinkreservation preamble, an uplink reservation preamble of the firstoperator 112 (FIG. 1A) to a second network entity 106 (FIG. 1A).

In some aspects, the uplink reservation preamble may be received atother one or more network entities. In some aspects, the downlinkreservation preamble includes at least one UE identifier. Further, insome aspects, although not shown, method 1200 may determine whether thefirst operator 112 corresponds to a second operator 114 associated withthe UE 115. In some aspects, transmitting the uplink reservationpreamble may include transmitting the uplink reservation preamble basedon a determination that the at least one UE identifier corresponds tothe identifier of the UE 115 (FIG. 1A).

In some aspects, receiving on the downlink reservation preamble may beperformed on a downlink frequency band and transmitting on the uplinkreservation preamble is performed on an uplink frequency band.

In some aspects, although not shown, method 1200 may receive anindication including a number of operators from the first network entity(e.g., network entity 105), and determine a transmission opportunitystructure including at least one uplink listen-before-talk timeslotbased on the number of operators from the first network entity.

In some aspects, transmitting the second reservation preamble 134 of thefirst operator 112 to the second network entity (e.g., network entity106) includes transmitting the second reservation preamble 134 duringthe at least one uplink listen-before-talk timeslot.

In some aspects, transmitting the uplink reservation preamble mayinclude transmitting the uplink reservation preamble when at least onenetwork condition as configured via semi-static configuration for the UE115 is met.

In some aspects, although not shown, the method 1200 may receive anindication including a number of operators from the first network entity105, and determine a transmission opportunity structure including astarting location of a transmission opportunity including one or morelisten-before-talk time slots based on the number of operators from thefirst network entity 105.

In some aspects, each listen-before-talk time slot may include adownlink portion and an uplink portion after the downlink portion, andwherein the downlink reservation preamble is transmitted in the downlinkportion, and the uplink reservation is transmitted in the uplinkportion.

In some aspects, the preamble timeslot may be associated with atransmission opportunity. Further, although not shown, the method 1200may receive at least one of a duration or a priority of at least thetransmission opportunity, monitor reservation preamble transmissionsfrom higher priority operators than the first operator 112 for thetransmission opportunity, determine that at least one of the higherpriority operators transmitted an associated reservation preamble, andforgo monitoring of a channel for the duration of the transmissionopportunity.

In some aspects, although not shown, the method 1200 may receive atleast one of a duration or a priority of one or more transmissionopportunities, and forego monitoring of one or more listen-before-talktimeslots based on receiving at least one of a duration or a priority ofone or more transmission opportunities.

In some aspects, an apparatus or any component of an apparatus may beconfigured to (or operable to or adapted to) provide functionality astaught herein. This may be achieved, for example: by manufacturing(e.g., fabricating) the apparatus or component so that it will providethe functionality; by programming the apparatus or component so that itwill provide the functionality; or through the use of some othersuitable implementation technique. As one example, an integrated circuitmay be fabricated to provide the requisite functionality. As anotherexample, an integrated circuit may be fabricated to support therequisite functionality and then configured (e.g., via programming) toprovide the requisite functionality. As yet another example, a processorcircuit may execute code to provide the requisite functionality.

It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using adesignation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generallylimit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, thesedesignations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements may be employed there or that the first element must precedethe second element in some manner. Also, unless stated otherwise a setof elements may comprise one or more elements. In addition, terminologyof the form “at least one of A, B, or C” or “one or more of A, B, or C”or “at least one of the group consisting of A, B, and C” used in thedescription or the claims means “A or B or C or any combination of theseelements.” For example, this terminology may include A, or B, or C, or Aand B, or A and C, or A and B and C, or 2A, or 2B, or 2C, and so on.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection withthe aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An examplestorage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor canread information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Inthe alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.

Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure can include a computer readablemedium embodying a method for dynamic bandwidth management fortransmissions in unlicensed spectrum. Accordingly, the disclosure is notlimited to the illustrated examples.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects, it should benoted that various changes and modifications could be made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by theappended claims. The functions, steps and/or actions of the methodclaims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described hereinneed not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, althoughcertain aspects may be described or claimed in the singular, the pluralis contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communications at a userequipment (UE) associated with a first operator, comprising: receiving,on a preamble timeslot assigned to the first operator from a networkentity, a downlink reservation preamble; and transmitting, within thepreamble timeslot assigned to the first operator and subsequent to thereception of the downlink reservation preamble, an uplink reservationpreamble of the first operator to a second network entity.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the downlink reservation preamble includes at leastone UE identifier, the method further comprising: determining whetherthe at least one UE identifier corresponds to an identifier of the UE,wherein transmitting the uplink reservation preamble includestransmitting the uplink reservation preamble based on a determinationthat the at least one UE identifier corresponds to the identifier of theUE.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving on the downlinkreservation preamble is performed on a downlink frequency band andtransmitting on the uplink reservation preamble is performed on anuplink frequency band.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmittingthe uplink reservation preamble includes transmitting the uplinkreservation preamble when at least one network condition as configuredvia semi-static configuration for the UE is met.
 5. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving an indication including a number ofoperators from the first network entity; and determining a transmissionopportunity structure including a starting location of a transmissionopportunity including one or more listen-before-talk time slots based onthe number of operators from the first network entity.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein each listen-before-talk time slot includes a downlinkportion and an uplink portion after the downlink portion, and whereinthe downlink reservation preamble is transmitted in the downlinkportion, and the uplink reservation is transmitted in the uplinkportion.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the preamble timeslot isassociated with a transmission opportunity, the method furthercomprising: receiving at least one of a duration or a priority of atleast the transmission opportunity; monitoring reservation preambletransmissions from higher priority operators than the first operator forthe transmission opportunity; determining that at least one of thehigher priority operators transmitted an associated reservationpreamble; and forgoing monitoring of a channel for the duration of thetransmission opportunity.
 8. An apparatus for wireless communications,comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory andconfigured to: receive, on a preamble timeslot assigned to the firstoperator from a network entity, a downlink reservation preamble; andtransmit, within the preamble timeslot assigned to the first operatorand subsequent to the reception of the downlink reservation preamble, anuplink reservation preamble of the first operator to a second networkentity.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the downlink reservationpreamble includes at least one UE identifier, the method furthercomprising: determining whether the at least one UE identifiercorresponds to an identifier of the UE, wherein transmitting the uplinkreservation preamble includes transmitting the uplink reservationpreamble based on a determination that the at least one UE identifiercorresponds to the identifier of the UE.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein receiving on the downlink reservation preamble is performed on adownlink frequency band and transmitting on the uplink reservationpreamble is performed on an uplink frequency band.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein transmitting the uplink reservation preamble includestransmitting the uplink reservation preamble when at least one networkcondition as configured via semi-static configuration for the UE is met.12. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising: receiving anindication including a number of operators from the first networkentity; and determining a transmission opportunity structure including astarting location of a transmission opportunity including one or morelisten-before-talk time slots based on the number of operators from thefirst network entity.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein eachlisten-before-talk time slot includes a downlink portion and an uplinkportion after the downlink portion, and wherein the downlink reservationpreamble is transmitted in the downlink portion, and the uplinkreservation is transmitted in the uplink portion.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the preamble timeslot is associated with a transmissionopportunity, the method further comprising: receiving at least one of aduration or a priority of at least the transmission opportunity;monitoring reservation preamble transmissions from higher priorityoperators than the first operator for the transmission opportunity;determining that at least one of the higher priority operatorstransmitted an associated reservation preamble; and forgoing monitoringof a channel for the duration of the transmission opportunity.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer code executableby a processor for wireless communication, comprising code for:receiving, on a preamble timeslot assigned to a first operator from anetwork entity, a downlink reservation preamble; and transmitting,within the preamble timeslot assigned to the first operator andsubsequent to the reception of the downlink reservation preamble, anuplink reservation preamble of the first operator to a second networkentity.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the downlink reservation preamble includes at least one UEidentifier, and further comprising code for: determining whether the atleast one UE identifier corresponds to an identifier of the UE, whereintransmitting the uplink reservation preamble includes transmitting theuplink reservation preamble based on a determination that the at leastone UE identifier corresponds to the identifier of the UE.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein receivingon the downlink reservation preamble is performed on a downlinkfrequency band and transmitting on the uplink reservation preamble isperformed on an uplink frequency band.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein transmitting the uplinkreservation preamble includes transmitting the uplink reservationpreamble when at least one network condition as configured viasemi-static configuration for the UE is met.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising code for:receiving an indication including a number of operators from the firstnetwork entity; and determining a transmission opportunity structureincluding a starting location of a transmission opportunity includingone or more listen-before-talk time slots based on the number ofoperators from the first network entity, wherein each listen-before-talktime slot includes a downlink portion and an uplink portion after thedownlink portion, and wherein the downlink reservation preamble istransmitted in the downlink portion, and the uplink reservation istransmitted in the uplink portion.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the preamble timeslot isassociated with a transmission opportunity, and further comprising codefor: receiving at least one of a duration or a priority of at least thetransmission opportunity; monitoring reservation preamble transmissionsfrom higher priority operators than the first operator for thetransmission opportunity; determining that at least one of the higherpriority operators transmitted an associated reservation preamble; andforgoing monitoring of a channel for the duration of the transmissionopportunity.